Theme Circle

Affiliate Builder – The Fast & Easy Way To Build Your Affiliate Website

 

By now you should have chosen your first niche and so it’s time to set up your website. We’re looking to build a real business here in Affiliate Builder, and to establish authority in your niche so a well-crafted website with high quality, original content is key.

Yes, it does require a small investment, but you can get started for as little as $20 or less. You cannot skip this method. Having a website is critical to this system, but the investment will pay for itself.

 

Technically you could start with a blog on Blogger or Tumblr, but once you start making some money, you’ll want to switch everything over to your own domain, which could be a real hassle down the line. You’ll lose traffic, and will have to start building links from scratch, etc. It’s not ideal, so try to find the money for a domain and hosting, if possible.

 

Choosing a Domain Name

The first thing you need to do is purchase a domain name. Your domain name is kind of like your website’s street address. It tells computers where your website resides.

 

Don’t try to get too cute. Most of the “perfect” domain names in your niche will already be long gone by now, as will most of the major keyword domains. So, you’ll need to get creative, but not over-the-top.

 

Let’s say you’ve chosen the basket weaving niche. You want a domain name that lets people know what your site is about without getting so cute or crazy that people don’t remember the site or just avoid it altogether because it seems unprofessional.

 

Some examples might be:

BasketWeavingCentral.com
BasketWeaverSpot.com
WeavingGreatBaskets.com

 

I haven’t looked to see if any of these are available or not, I just came up with them off the top of my head. They’re purely meant to be examples of professional domains one might choose.

 

Examples of bad domains:

 

These domains, while they might be cute and kitschy, would not seem professional to the average visitor. They wouldn’t be memorable, because people would be thinking of the original words (like dream weaver) and might have a hard time remembering the play on that word that you used.

 

Choosing a Domain & Hosting

A lot of people use NameCheap to register their domains because they are affordably priced and have coupons every month, but you can also register with GoDaddy.com or any other registrar you choose.

 

NameCheap

http://www.NameCheap.com

 

Set Up Hosting

While a domain name is like your website’s street address, hosting is like your website’s physical location—like the land it sits on.

 

When it comes to hosting, I highly recommend buying a yearly hosting package if you can afford to. Because it will probably take you a few months before you become profitable.

 

By paying for a year upfront, you won’t risk looking at that monthly hosting bill and the fact that you’re not earning much and saying, “Forget it!”

 

And if you don’t pay your hosting bill and your site goes down, any work you’ve already put in will be gone. Poof!

 

Don’t let that happen to you. Pay for a year upfront if you can possibly manage it. If you’re serious about this business, you’ll find a way. Remember, this is a business, and businesses require investment.

 

If you can’t swing a full year upfront, try to find the least expensive hosting package you can that has decent reviews. You don’t want to lose traffic because your host is unbearably slow, so it’s important to pay attention to reviews.

 

And be careful that the reviews are from legitimate users and not affiliates who are simply looking to make a commission.

 

It’s perfectly fine to buy your hosting through an affiliate link. Just be sure you read some legitimate reviews first.

 

Make sure you choose a hosting company that has an admin panel like cPanel and has one of the software installation packages like Softaculous. This will make it a breeze to install stuff like WordPress, even if you don’t have a lot of technical knowledge.

 

Some popular hosting companies include:

 

HostGator

http://www.HostGator.com

 

BlueHost

http://www.BlueHost.com

 

NameCheap

http://www.NameCheap.com

 

Install WordPress

The design of your website is basically like the building that sits on your land (hosting). For this method, we’ll use WordPress, because you can get started without learning a bunch of coding.

 

If you have a hosting company that includes Softaculous or one of the other installer packages, it will be incredibly easy to install WordPress.

Under scripts, click on WordPress. This will bring up the WordPress installer page. Click on “Install Now”. Enter the information requested. I usually choose http://www. As the Protocol.

 

Choose your domain from the dropdown box. Leave the directory blank unless you have a different page on the root of your domain.

 

Enter your site’s name and a short description. Leave WPMU blank. Enter a username and password. DO NOT use admin as your username, because it will make your blog easier to hack, and choose a strong password!

Enter the email address you want notifications to go to. Use Limit Login Attempts should be checked. Then just scroll down and hit Install.

 

Once it’s finished, use your username and password to log in and get started!

 

If for some reason you close this page, you can access your admin login page at:

 

http://www.YourDomain.com/wp-admin

 

Just replace YourDomain.com with your own domain.

 

When you get logged in, there are a few things you will want to do to get your site set up properly. Go to Settings in the menu on the left, and click Permalinks.

 

You can set your own structure here, but I usually use either Post Name, or a custom structure in which I add this text into the box:

 

/%category%/%postname%/

 

This isn’t critical, but it does make your site more SEO friendly, because it gives the search engines extra keywords instead of just random numbers and such, which is how WordPress handles things by default.

 

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to add plugins and themes.

 

Install Themes & Plugins

There are plenty of free themes out there, so it’s not necessary to pay for them. However, there are themes out there that are built specifically for marketers, so you might want to look at a few of them.

 

One theme that is very good for marketing purposes is the Extra theme from Elegant Themes.

 

Extra. The Ultimate Magazine WordPress Theme

 

This theme is structured well, has many features that make it work very well for marketing, and works well with Elegant Themes’ marketing plugins, too.

 

Sometimes Elegant Themes has specials where you can get a lifetime license at a very affordable price, so it’s worth looking out for those offers!

 

Even at the current yearly access price of $89, or the current lifetime access price of $249, it’s a great deal for all that you get access to!

 

Plus, the Divi theme is excellent for making product sales pages and squeeze pages because it lets you create your own pages using modules. It’s very easy to use, even for a beginner.

 

Their documentation leads you through the whole process. So, if you think you might want to launch your own products later, this membership is even more worth it.

 

Don’t forget to download and install some of their plugins, as well.

 

For example, Bloom is great for creating amazing opt-in forms. Monarch is an excellent social media sharing plugin that adds social sharing buttons to all your posts automatically.

 

And the Divi Builder plugin will add the powerful drag-and-drop page building functionality of the Divi theme to ANY theme from ANY creator. If interested, you get a Divi discount coupon and start using it right now.

 

ElegantThemes

Elegant Themes WordPress Themes That Empower 437,821 Customers

 

Don’t go crazy with plugins! Add only those you really need. Otherwise, you’ll end up slowing down your site, which will hurt your SEO.

 

I suggest adding:

 

 

You may find some others that work well for your specific needs, but these are some of the most important that you’ll almost certainly want to include. Most are free, but a few are paid.

 

There are almost always free options available, but sometimes the paid options offer more features or work better.

 

Another great package you might want to consider using is SumoMe. They have many plugins that you can install from a single interface.

 

Just install the SumoMe plugin, sign up for an account, and you can install the various plugins from the interface.

 

They have plugins for social sharing, opt-ins, and lots more.

 

SumoMe

https://sumo.com

 

Creating Epic Content

Golden rule of profitable authority niche websites:  You need to create truly epic content that connects with your readers.

 

In the past, writing a handful of short, keyword-optimized articles were enough to get top rankings and plenty of traffic, but these days your content must be top notch for several reasons:

 

 

If you put out low quality content, you almost certainly will fail. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. There is no method of traffic generation that will make worthless content profitable.

 

The great news is that it’s easy to create epic content that both people and search engines will love.

 

In fact, I find it easier to create content in today’s marketplace than ever before because I don’t have to worry about meeting some specific keyword density or including the right keywords in the right spots.

 

I just research what is most important to my market and write content that will do 3 very important things:

Connect with your readers.  Your content needs to resonate with your audience so they begin to see you as an authority or expert on the topic. This means that your content needs to be well-researched, actionable and comprehensive.

Persuades your readers.  Your writing needs to motivate them into taking action, even if that action simply involves returning to your website again.

 

In order to persuade readers, you need to earn their trust and convince them, through your content, that you are an expert on the topic.

Excites your readers.   Your content should be something your readers want to share with their friends, family, social media and communities. This means that you need to deliver content that is different from other blogs, whether that is by offering a fresh perspective or a unique angle.

 

I begin by thinking about what my objective is.

 

Do I want to write a piece of content that motivates someone to subscribe to my list?

 

Do I require a specific action after someone reads my content, or is being created in other to garner attention and gain trust?

Hint: Not every piece of content should require your reader to act. You need to build pillar content that provides exceptional value and helps them in some way that doesn’t require anything on their part. No commitments.

Identifying your content’s objective before you start writing it is extremely important and will ensure that your material is direct, informative and hits the target.

Once you know what your objective is, concentrate on conveying your message in a concise, direct manner.

 

Don’t get wordy!  Develop content that people will want to share because it speaks to them, communicates a positive message that supports your brand and demonstrates your knowledge on the topic.

Flex that creative muscle!

You want to gain the respect of your niche market so you can build an authority website that people visit frequently, right? You’ll do that by producing hot content that helps your audience.

And if you are suffering from writer’s block and have no idea how to create epic content, go to the source!

Spend some time reading content from authority websites. Identify the influential marketers in that niche and study their writing style.

Take notes!  Jot down anything that comes to mind whether it’s an idea for a killer blog title or reminders regarding content format and style.

One fantastic tool that makes it easy to research (ahem, spy) on your competition and pinpoint influential blogs in your niche is with BuzzSumo.

 

They offer a free version so check it out:

 

http://www.BuzzSumo.com

But, what about keywords and backlinks? Aren’t they still important to rank within the search engines?

It’s true that you should still include relevant keywords within your content, but don’t worry too much about that when you’re in the writing phase.

 

The last thing you want to do is stuff your content with keywords because you’re focused too much on hitting a certain keyword density.

 

Trust me, if you focus on writing rock-solid, epic content that provides exceptional value, persuades visitors into taking action and is well-optimized, your page will rank high in the search engines because other authority sites will link to your material and share it with their readers!

In fact, my suggestion is to write your content first without thought about keywords at all, and then go back through your content when editing and add in a couple of targeted keywords.

 

Don’t concentrate on a single keyword. Instead, add several relevant keywords into your article, varying them throughout the material and the article or blog title. This is just as effective these days, because search engines can figure out what your topic is without having specific words in any particular order. They look at the context rather than just the words.

Ultimately, Google determines the relevance of your page by analyzing its content based on a few different factors, including where and how often you use certain words within your content.

 

Google then gauges the authority of your page by the number of people (other blogs and websites) that link to your page and how trustworthy those sites are.

Considering that, obviously the most important thing is to write content for people and once that’s done, optimize it for the search engines. Your visitors always come first.

Make sense? Let’s move on.

 

Creating an Editorial Calendar

The first thing you should do when it comes to content creation is brainstorm for content ideas and add them to your editorial calendar. You can use specialized software for this, or a WordPress plugin (there are several out there), or the calendar on your computer or tablet, or even just a text document or physical notebook. Whatever you’re most comfortable with is fine.

 

The point is to brainstorm those ideas and then insert them into your calendar to develop a schedule for yourself. This accomplishes two major things:

First, it helps you stick to creating content. One of the most important components in successful affiliate and niche marketing is to be consistent! And believe me, it’s also one of the most challenging aspects because it’s easy to get burned out. Creating a schedule will help keep you focused.

And second, it will help you remember to create special content for holidays and events well in advance so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute. It’s also a great way to brainstorm future topics.

 

If you want to create an article on decorating for a Fourth of July barbecue, you want to create that content sometime in May or June. This gives the content time to rank in the search engines, but also gives it time to start getting shared on social media and such.

 

The last thing you want to do is start creating that content on the first day of July. That leaves you very little time to create the content, and no time at all to get your promotions going. You might as well just skip that holiday if you start that late!

 

Creating an editorial calendar will help you prepare well in advance of these events, and will help you stay motivated and on course.

 

So how many articles should you post per month?

 

Don’t look at it that way. There’s no set magic number that will draw the line between success and failure.

 

The answer, basically, is to create as many articles each month as you feel comfortable creating, but with one caveat. Make sure you post at least once per month and that your article is roughly 1000 words or longer.

 

Pillar content should be even longer, if possible. I aim for 1500 words per article ensuring that it’s meaty, relevant and direct.

Also, start out by writing on a narrow topic!  This will make research easier and keep you focused.  So, choose a specific topic within your niche, break it down into a smaller segment, and then write a 1500-word article about that topic.

 

Quick & Easy Keyword Research

In the past, keyword research was one of the most critical elements of creating online content. Every single article you posted needed to have your main keyword in the title, in the meta keywords, in alt image tags, in headings and subheadings, and a certain number of times in your content, at minimum.

 

These days, it’s not that restrictive. Basic keyword research is still a good idea, but there’s no need to spend too much time on it. You can base each article on a particular keyword if you want, but at long as the keyword is used at least once in your content, that’s all it takes.

 

Let’s look at a few options:

 

SERPs Keyword Tool

https://serps.com/tools/keyword-research/

 

This tool returns over 100 pages of results; however you must be specific when you enter a keyword.

 

For example, if you enter “recipe”, you get results such as:

 

 

These all have relatively low volume, and you probably wouldn’t want to devote a lot of time creating content for such low-volume keywords.

 

Even when I skipped to the last page, it was still putting numbers in front of every keyword, so it shows you exactly how many keywords are out there that start with numbers!

 

There was a total of 899,457 results, but it only showed 2001 of those, and they ALL started with numbers or a dollar sign! This indicates they provide results in alphabetical order, NOT based on the volume or CPC. Even if you sort by volume or CPC, you still get only those first 2001 results for free.

 

This isn’t very useful if you need suggestions for keywords, such as finding different popular recipe types like “chicken soup recipe”, “lasagna recipe”, “best brownie recipe”, etc. But you could still find some gems.

 

Their small business pricing for the paid version is currently $49 per month, but you can only use it for 5 sites and up to 300 keyword searches per month. They do have a 30-day trial. If you need more keywords, their agency plan is $99 per month and has up to 1,000 keywords.

 

KeywordTool.io

https://keywordtool.io

 

KeywordTool.io is great for finding keywords that are truly useful, but with one caveat. They don’t provide ANY search volume data for free. However, when I searched for “recipe” in Google, it came up with 701 unique keywords, including:

 

 

These are all very useful keywords, but you cannot see any potential search volume without signing up for a “pro” account.

 

The pro version is currently $68 per month if you just need it for SEO purposes, or $88 per month if you want CPC data and AdWords competition data for advertising purposes.

 

One of the best things about this particular tool is that it can not only search GOOGLE’S keywords, but also other sites, such as YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, and the App Store! This makes it a great all-around tool that could find keywords you might not find elsewhere.

 

AdWords Keyword Planner

https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home

 

Google no longer allows public access to their keyword tool, but you can still use it if you have a free AdWords account. It’s worth signing up for an AdWords account to get access to the keyword tool, even if you never plan to pay for advertising.

 

Keep in mind that the free tool does not provide accurate search volume anymore, just a VERY wide range of numbers, such as 100K-1M. However, it’s still an indicator of whether it gets a decent amount of volume.

 

Also, the tool does suffer from being too broad sometimes. My search for “recipe” came up with:

 

 

Those might be useful for a food blogger, but they aren’t as geared to the actual “recipes” topic as I would have liked. That said, it did return many keywords that were accurate, so I can’t complain too much.

Here are two others that I recommend:

SEMRush
https://www.semrush.com/features/keyword-research/

Provides a quick snapshot of both short and long-tail keywords as well as information on PPC and organic traffic. This tool will show you who your competition is as well.

 

Moz
https://moz.com/explorer/keyword/

 

Moz is one of the top resources for information on search engine optimization and they’ve developed an awesome tool that will provide extensive data on all things keyword, SERP analysis, and visual representations of a keywords traffic volume.

 

The Golden Rule of Content

Your blog posts should be at least 750 words, bare minimum, and 1,500+ is ideal.

 

I know that might sound like a lot, but there is a lot of evidence that Google is heavily favoring longer content, and the sweet spot seems to be over 1,000 words. Shorter content just isn’t cutting it these days.

 

I know I said we weren’t going to concentrate too much on SEO, but you want your site to be ready for when Google does finally starts to pay you some attention.

 

You want your content to be top-notch for the people who visit you from social media sites so they will be more likely to like and share it. A post that goes content can change everything!

 

Don’t let the idea of having to write longer content scare you off. If you spend just an hour a day writing content, you could easily create a 1500-word article every week.

 

If you have the money to outsource your content to experienced freelancers, that’ll make things even easier. I’ve hired a few amazing writers from www.Upwork.com who write content for all my niche blogs at very affordable rates.

Just be sure to ask for samples before hiring a freelancer.  Don’t ask them to write something specifically for you, that’s not fair and is a waste of their time in the event you decide not to hire them.

 

Instead, ask them to provide links to content or samples they’ve written in your chosen niche.

 

hat will give you a good idea as to their understanding of your market as well as their style of writing.

And speaking of which, your content should always be written in authoritative, yet conversational format.   You don’t want your posts to be dry or boring.

 

Keep people engaged by injecting personality and humor into your articles.

 

Yes, depending on your market, you’ll want to adjust your tone to suit the niche, but don’t be afraid to be different.  Shock people, make them laugh, amuse them.

 

When I write an article, the process goes something like this:

 

 

Let’s look at each of these steps one at a time in detail.

 

Choose A Keyword

You don’t have to meet any specific keyword density or stuff it into every paragraph, but you want to choose a keyword that makes sense and is likely used by your visitor’s when searching Google for content.

 

Include that keyword in the title of your article, if possible. It’s not critical, but it can help your future SEO.

 

If you have a captivating article title that you think will pull a lot of traffic in, don’t worry about the keyword. You can use it anywhere in the body of article.

 

Choose a Title

Your title is very important, because it’s the first thing people see when they land on your page. It is as important as a book title. It can make or break your content’s ability to connect with your reader.

 

That means it needs to be exciting, interesting, funny, and essentially, attention grabbing.

 

Let’s say you have the keyword “chicken casserole recipes”. You might be tempted to title your article something like “The World’s Best Chicken Casserole Recipes”.

 

But that type of title has been used so many times that it’s not exactly attention-getting, right?  It’s really boring!

 

Instead, you could try something like “11 Chicken Casserole Recipes That Will Impress the Fussiest Eater in your Life!” Or “11 Restaurant-Quality Chicken Casserole Recipes That’ll Win His Heart!”

 

Don’t be afraid to go crazy! After all, you’re going to follow through with an exceptionally high quality article that will meet those expectations and fulfill your promise.

 

Find Sources for Research

You never want to use just a single resource for your research, because you risk creating content that borders on plagiarism.

 

Contrary to what you may have been told, it’s not enough to simply rewrite someone else’s content.

 

Sure, if you rewrite it you probably won’t run into any legal issues, but if someone were to come along that was familiar with the original source, it’ll likely harm your reputation.  You’re too good to be a copy cat!

And if you even think about being lazy and copying someone’s content, let me clarify that it isn’t just your visitor’s that you’re likely to piss off.

 

Google is becoming more sophisticated, and will quickly detect if two websites have very similar content. It doesn’t want to show the same content over and over, so it tries to rank content that is distinct.

Guess what will happen if your site is found to be using the same content as another?

You’ll get penalized as a “duplicate content” site. That means your website will no longer rank. You’ll be lost in the black abyss, forgotten by the one search engine that matters.

 

Besides, if you use several sources for your research, you’ll have a good mix of information when forming the basis of your content.

 

Providing a different perspective on a much-covered topic is a great way to stand apart from the crowd, right?

 

So, research several sources, think about how you could provide a different viewpoint or speak to your reader in your own voice, and write that killer article!

 

Create an Outline

I always create an outline when I write content for my niche websites, whether it’s for a special report that I offer as incentive to join my mailing list, or a 1,500-word article for my blog.

Outlines help prevent writer’s block, and they ensure that you’re including all the essential information without losing focus or going off track. I even outlined this book you’re reading right now before I started writing it! 😉

 

A 1,000-word information-based article should have 3-5 sections, each focusing on a different element of your topic. This might vary, if you’re writing something like a content roundup, but 3-5 sections are the sweet spot.

 

Need an example? No problem!

Let’s pretend you’re writing an article on ways to save money. You might have sections such as:

 

Essentially, you’re segmenting your content and breaking it down into digestible chunks.  It makes it easier for your reader to follow and pleases page-scrollers who browse sub-headers for the topics they’re most interested in.

Integrating Eye-Catching Images

Images are an important element of your content, too. Google loves content that contains photos and illustrations, but so do users.

 

Research has shown that our brain processes visual information over 50,000 times faster than text!

 

Images also help break up a wall of black-and-white text that may feel monotonous, and can also help support the points you make in your content. Plus, they just add some pizazz! 😉

 

Word of Caution: Never use free images you find on Google Images!

 

Make sure you have the legal right to use every single image you post. Otherwise, you could end up on the hook for thousands of dollars in damages if the photographer or stock agency that owns the image finds out that you’ve been using it without authorization or proper licensing.

I recommend creating an account at one of the popular stock image sites online, such as:

 

StockUnlimited

http://www.stockunlimited.com

 

DepositPhotos

http://www.depositphotos.com

 

ShutterStock

http://www.ShutterStock.com

 

If you don’t want to pay for images, try searching various free stock sites like:

 

Pexels

http://www.pexels.com

 

Unsplash

http://www.unsplash.com

 

Pixabay

http://www.pixabay.com

 

StockSnap.io

https://stocksnap.io

 

Create Social Graphics

I always create 3 different graphics for social media.

 

 

 

 

You don’t have to have Photoshop, or even any special graphics skills, to create these images. You can use something like Canva to create your images for free on PC, Mac, and even on an iPad with the Canva app!

 

Canva

http://www.Canva.com

 

Another great option is Pablo, which is also free. It’s very easy to use, and there are over 600,000 images include that you can use!

 

Pablo

https://pablo.buffer.com

 

Write the Article

Remember to make sure your article is at least 750-1,500 words, and concentrate on relaying information in an interesting and engaging way.

 

Then, edit it! You want to make sure you’re not overlooking spelling or grammar errors.

 

If you struggle with this and don’t want to hire an editor, download a free copy of www.Grammarly.com. It’s one of my most used tools and makes me look like a pro! 😉

 

Add an Image into Each Section

Make sure to place images throughout your article for visual appeal and to keep your reader engaged. It’ll help break up the content.

Don’t forget to add alt image text for SEO purposes and for Pinterest. The alt image text will automatically populate the description field on Pinterest if someone pins an article from your site and chooses one of your images, so it’s very important to do this!

 

Here’s a quick tutorial on adding alt text in WordPress:

 

Image Alt Text vs Image Title in WordPress – What’s the Difference?

 

Post the Article

 

Post the article to your blog when you’re certain it’s free from spelling and grammatical errors. If you’re extra creative one week, you could always write content ahead of time (based on your content schedule) and then set it to go live on specific days.

I do this all the time, especially when I know one week is bound to be busier than usual and I don’t want to fall behind with updating my niche blog.  I’ll schedule posts to go live once a week so that even if I’m not at my computer my website is up to date and producing fresh content.

 

Share on Social Media

 

Once you have posted your content, it’s time to share it on social media!

Post on your Instagram while inserting relevant tags. Link back to your blog post.

Last Minute Tips & Strategies

 

 

 

 

I wish you all the success in the world and hope that my guide has helped you get started. You have what it takes. Go do it!

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